by Pamela Bauer
He liked the fact that she’d been interested enough in him to look him up. Then she said, “Krystal was browsing through them one day and pointed it out. I told her it didn’t surprise me.”
“I think some of my buddies set me up for that one,” he said with a sly grin. “They stuffed the ballot box.”
She simply raised one eyebrow. “I hear you left a trail of broken hearts when you went off and joined the military.”
“Now who would have told you that?”
“Actually, it was your mother.”
“Mom?”
She nodded. “She talks about you often.”
Dylan wondered what kind of things his mother had told her. Did Maddie know about the tension between him and his brothers? Suddenly he felt at a disadvantage. She knew a lot more about him than he did about her, which was evidenced by her recitation of his accomplishments over the past thirteen years.
“My mom told you all that?” he asked.
She nodded. “And more.”
Throughout dinner she told anecdotes his mother had shared with her. To counter, he related the same stories but his versions—which he could see she didn’t believe. The evening came to an end much too soon and he was disappointed when she declined his invitation to have an after-dinner drink.
When they stepped outside, the snow was still falling. The path they had taken earlier was now drifted over and Dylan automatically reached for her as they made their way home. He liked the feel of her gloved hand in his.
She had not wanted to prolong the evening at the pub, but he was determined that once they were back at the house they’d have a nightcap. His plans shattered though, when they stepped into the entry and found a duffel bag, a backpack and a pair of athletic shoes.
“What?” he wondered aloud only to have his unspoken question answered. Around the corner came his brother Jason.
“Hey, Dylan.”
“How did you get here?”
“Some friends dropped me off.”
“You’re home for the weekend?”
Jason didn’t answer, because he’d noticed Maddie and greeted her with a hug. “Hey, Maddie. How’s it going? You got anything in the freezer I could heat up?”
“Are you hungry?” she asked. Before he could answer she said, “Silly question. College kids are always hungry, right? Why don’t you go on into the kitchen and I’ll be right there.” She removed her coat and hung it on a hook.
This was not how Dylan had expected the rest of the night to go…sharing Maddie with his little brother. “What exactly are you doing here?” he asked Jason. “I thought the semester had just started.”
“It did, but I came home.” Then he turned to Maddie. “Hey—do you think you could give me a massage later this weekend?”
“You having trouble with that neck again?” she said in a sympathetic tone Dylan realized had been absent when she’d attended to his injured shoulder.
Jason started to follow her into the kitchen, but Dylan stopped him. “I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes.”
“Can’t it wait? I have to meet my friends and I really need to get something to eat.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Maddie said with a touch on Jason’s arm, then discreetly left.
“What is it?” Jason asked impatiently as she walked away.
“I just wanted to know how things are going at school,” Dylan said.
“Fine,” he said abruptly. “Now can I go?”
He wanted to say, No, you’re going to stay right here and have a conversation. I’m your brother. But then he remembered what Garret had said. Maybe tonight was not the time to get into a confrontation with him.
“All right. We’ll talk in the morning. Go get something to eat,” he said with a nod toward the kitchen.
Dylan could have gone with him, but he took a seat in the living room, envious of his younger brother and the attention he received from Maddie. Dylan wanted to be the one who was the recipient of her smile, the one she wrapped her arms around in a bear hug.
Then he stopped himself. That was not what he wanted at all. He wanted Maddie to smile at him all right and he especially wanted to have those beautiful arms wrapped around his body, but not the way it had happened with Jason. She’d treated his brother as if he was a long-lost relative who’d come home. Dylan definitely didn’t want Maddie to regard him as a member of the family. He wanted to be something entirely different. Now he only needed to convince her she wanted the same thing.
MADDIE EXPECTED Dylan to come into the kitchen while she made Jason something to eat. When he didn’t, she was disappointed. As much as she’d hated to admit it, she’d enjoyed their evening together and was sorry to see it come to an end.
“You know I’m interested in you.” She could still hear his words in her head, and she couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t found them exciting. Maybe it was because all those years ago she’d longed for the seventeen-year-old heartthrob to notice her. Or maybe it was simply because he was a very attractive man.
Whatever the reason, she knew that she wasn’t immune to his charm. If they’d been alone in the big house when they’d returned, she didn’t doubt that she’d have found a reason to spend more time with him. That’s why she was relieved that Jason had come home.
After fixing him a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, she’d gone up to her room where she’d put a Bonnie Raitt CD on the stereo and sat on the love seat near her window, watching the snow fall. She didn’t want to think about Dylan, but she found it hard to think of anything else.
A knock on her door startled her. Her first thought was that it might be Dylan. Maybe he wasn’t going to let her go to bed without saying good-night. Then she heard Krystal’s voice.
“Maddie, are you in there?”
“Yeah, come on in.” As the hairdresser poked her red head around the door Maddie asked, “How’s Shannon?”
“She was in recovery when I left. It was her appendix as they suspected. I stayed with her until she got out of surgery.” She flopped down onto the love seat next to Maddie. “So what are you doing up here? I thought you’d be downstairs watching a video or something.”
“No, I’d rather sit up here and watch it snow,” she said, glancing out the window.
“We’ve had so much it’s getting to the point where it’s not pretty,” Krystal said with a yawn. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to pull my share of the nursing duties with Dylan. Did everything go okay?”
“Yeah, it was fine,” she answered.
“What did you make for dinner?”
“I didn’t cook. We walked over to that Irish pub on Snelling Avenue. It was his suggestion, and to be honest it suited me just fine.”
“Leonie must not have told him what a great cook you are.”
“I think he’s getting a bit claustrophobic.”
“And who could blame him?” She pulled her feet up beneath her. “So tell me. What’s he like?” Eyes that had been sleepy only moments ago now widened in interest. “Did you ask him if he has a girlfriend?”
“I don’t care if he has a girlfriend.” She avoided answering, not wanting to be having this discussion. She could only imagine what her roommate would say if she knew what the actual subject of their conversation had been.
“Now that just goes to show you how unfair life can be. I mean, there I was stuck at the hospital when I could have been having dinner with that gorgeous specimen of man. And here you were, not giving a hoot about getting to know him better….”
“I thought you’d decided it wouldn’t be wise to get involved with Dylan because of what it might do to your relationship with Leonie,” Maddie reminded her.
She gave her a mischievous look. “I didn’t say I wanted to get involved, but I wouldn’t mind having a little fun. And Leonie’s not here this weekend.”
The image of Dylan with his arms around Krystal flashed in Maddie’s mind and it wasn’t pleasant.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that
the beauty shop’s not going to be open tomorrow because of all the snow. That means you won’t have to do a thing for Dylan because I’ll be here. I’ll play nurse.” She rubbed her hands together enthusiastically. “Ooh, it’s going to be so much fun!”
Maddie didn’t doubt for one minute that Krystal would relish every moment in Dylan’s company or that she’d do whatever she could to make sure that he received a lot of attention.
Krystal glanced at her watch. “I’m hungry and it’s not that late so I think I’ll go downstairs and get something to eat. I should probably check on Dylan, too.” She looked at Maddie. “You want to come down?”
“I think I’ve done my duty for today,” she replied. “You know, you don’t have to wait on the guy hand and foot. It’s only one shoulder that’s not working.”
“Maddie, you’re looking at someone who’s spent her life waiting on people. And very few of them have looked as good as Dylan. This is no sacrifice, believe me.” With a wave, she was gone.
Maddie could hear her singing along to one of the Bonnie Raitt songs as she went down the stairs. She closed her door, hoping to drown out any sounds that might come from the first floor. But even with the stereo playing, she could hear muffled voices. Every now and then laughter echoed up the stairs.
Maddie tried not to picture Krystal with Dylan, but she couldn’t prevent the images that went through her head. Krystal was not shy. Maddie could imagine her placing her hands on Dylan’s shoulders, getting close to him as she spoke.
A strange uneasiness fluttered through Maddie. So what if Krystal and Dylan were cozying up on the sofa? It was nothing to her. She had no reason to be jealous. She wasn’t interested in the man.
She picked up the phone and dialed Jeffrey’s number. She got his answering machine, which she knew meant he was in his study working on his thesis. With a sigh she returned the phone to its cradle.
Again she looked outside. It was still snowing. Chances were the dance studio would be closed tomorrow as well. The storm would have effectively shut down most of the city and she’d have to spend the entire day in the same house watching Krystal flirting with Dylan.
It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Again she dialed Jeffrey’s number. After hearing the answering machine’s beep, she left her message, “Jeffrey, it’s me. I hope the snow won’t keep us from seeing each other tomorrow. Call me in the morning, all right?”
“There. That takes care of tomorrow. As for tonight,” she said softly to herself. “I’ll just go to bed.”
She changed into her pajamas and slid between the sheets, determined to put Dylan out of her mind. It shouldn’t have been difficult to do. After all, the mumbled voices and distant laughter had disappeared.
Which only made it worse for Maddie, who now imagined Krystal in Dylan’s arms. Kissing him. Touching him. Maddie wondered if he was telling Krystal the same things he’d said to her earlier that day…that she had beautiful eyes…that he was interested in her.
Maddie punched her pillow. What did it matter what he was saying to Krystal? He was a free agent—he’d admitted he was without a girlfriend. If Krystal wanted to be the latest seashell he added to his collection, that was her business. Maddie had better things to do. And tomorrow she’d show him that.
MADDIE AWOKE to the sound of Krystal’s voice. She glanced up and saw her friend poking around the door.
“I’m sorry to have to wake you, Maddie, but I feel awful.”
Now that Maddie’s eyes were wide-open she could see that her housemate didn’t look well and she sounded stuffy. “What’s wrong? Do you think you’re running a fever?” she asked as she climbed out of bed.
“I ache all over and I have the chills. I think I might have the flu. Do you have anything I can take for it?”
Maddie padded over to her desk. “Maybe these will help,” she said, handing her a small bottle of pain relievers.
“Thanks. I’m feeling really weak.” She clung to the door, looking as if she might keel over any minute.
“Then go back to bed,” Maddie ordered, giving her a gentle shove.
“But I’m supposed to make breakfast for Dylan this morning.”
“He can get his own.”
“No, he can’t. Haven’t you seen how difficult it is for him to use his left hand?”
Maddie had seen his attempts in the kitchen and knew she had no choice but to say, “I’ll help him. You just go back to bed and don’t worry about anything. I’ll bring you some juice and a pitcher of water so you can take those tablets.”
Krystal murmured a weak thanks before shuffling slowly back to her room. She hadn’t gone far when she turned and said, “Oh…as long as you’re going downstairs, would you bring me my watch? I think I left it on one of the end tables in the living room.”
Maddie nodded, then pulled on her robe and headed down the stairs, hoping that Dylan wasn’t up. To her relief, it was still dark, the arrival of dawn allowing just enough light for Maddie to see without flicking on a switch. She carefully made her way into the kitchen, where she put a pitcher of water and a glass of juice on a serving tray. Then she headed for the living room, tiptoeing as quietly as she could.
Because there were fewer windows, the room was darker than the rest of the house. Maddie padded across the wood floor toward the sofa. Just before she reached it she realized there was a body there. A large body with sun-bleached hair. It was Dylan.
She stopped suddenly, nearly spilling the water. She should have known. Jason had come home unexpectedly and Dylan had been using his room.
She glanced at the end table near the sofa, debating whether to continue searching for Krystal’s watch. The gold band winked in the early morning sun, tempting her to come pick it up, yet there was a sun-streaked head nearby that made her hesitate.
Carefully she tiptoed over to the table, conscious of the man asleep on the sofa. Holding her breath, she reached for the watch, snatching it up without making a sound. She glanced at Dylan’s face, serene in slumber. He was even more attractive than he’d been awake.
One stray lock of hair had fallen across his forehead. Her fingers itched to brush it back. That wasn’t all they longed to do. Curiosity had her wondering how those slightly parted lips would feel beneath her fingertips, if the slight growth of whiskers on his jaw would be bristly to her touch.
The only other part of him sticking out from the blanket was his left hand, which clutched one edge of the blanket. He had big, powerful hands roughened from hard work and the sun.
He shifted, causing the blanket to move as well. As he struggled to make himself comfortable, it became apparent that his chest was bare. Except for the bandage across his shoulder, there was nothing but tanned flesh. Maddie’s breath caught in her throat. She could see the results of his having worked with concrete. There was nothing but firm muscle.
For several seconds she stared at him, imagining what was under the rest of the blanket. At the direction her thoughts had taken, she felt her cheeks warm. When he stirred a second time, she hurried out of the room and back up the stairs.
After she’d given Krystal her watch and the tray with the liquids, she returned to her own room, where she collapsed onto her bed, her cheeks still stinging with heat from her encounter with the sleeping Dylan. What in the world had she been thinking?
But she knew the answer to that question, and it was definitely something she had no business contemplating. She’d been lucky to get out of the room without waking him. If he had caught her staring at him like that it would have been the ultimate in humiliation. And she had no doubt he would take great pleasure in reminding her of it.
She still couldn’t believe she’d gawked at him as if she’d never seen a naked chest before. Well, she hadn’t seen one that looked like that—at least not one that wasn’t in a magazine or on the movie screen.
Her body warmed again at the memory. She groaned. Just what she didn’t need—to revert to adolescence.
All right. So the inevitabl
e had happened. She couldn’t live in the same house as Dylan and not expect to see him without a shirt.
She’d done that and survived. And the best part of all was that he didn’t know she’d done it. It was time to move on. She’d made it perfectly clear to him that she was in a relationship with Jeffrey and had no interest in seeing anyone else.
She’d give him no reason to think she regarded him as anyone other than her landlady’s son. She’d treat him the same way she treated Jason. Like a brother. And as for those fanciful thoughts running through her head—she’d keep them to herself, just as she had all those years ago.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dear Leonie: There’s this girl I can’t stop thinking about. I want to ask her out, but she’s seeing another guy. She says they’re just friends and I believe they are. Why else would she react to me the way she does?
Signed: Itching to make a move
Leonie says: Until she tells you she’s not involved with the other guy, you’re going to have to find another way to scratch that itch.
DYLAN WOKE the following morning feeling stiff and out of sorts. His shoulder didn’t ache, but other parts of him did. He pushed aside the blanket and sat up, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. As comfortable as the sofa in his mother’s living room was, it couldn’t take the place of a bed.
He staggered down the hallway to the bathroom only to discover it was occupied. He leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes. Since his brother’s bedroom door was shut and there was a one-in-a-million chance that the teen would be out of bed before noon, he figured it was either Maddie or Krystal in the shower. He longed for the days when the only people he shared a bathroom with were his brothers. At least with them he could pound on the door and say, “Hurry up in there.”
With a sigh he went back to his makeshift bed. He reached for the remote and flicked on the television. Scrolling across the bottom of the screen was a list of events canceled because of the snowstorm. With two fingers he spread the blinds on the window and saw that it was still snowing. Mounds of white had drifted close to the window ledge. Not since he’d been a kid had he seen such a sight.
